International Women's Day: Women in tech will work for free for 41 days this year

International Women's Day: Women in tech will work 41 days for free this year

• New data reveals that women working in tech are essentially going unpaid. November 20 This year, based on the current wage gap
• The findings analyzed each state's computer-related wage gap for the 2024 work calendar year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Currently, women earn on average 84.2% of men working in the same industry and will go unpaid for 41 days this year.
• Web design expert discusses why the tech industry's gender pay gap and 'glass ceiling' need to be addressed to attract new talent

New data reveals that women working in tech are essentially going unpaid. November 20 This year it will be based on the current industry gender pay gap.

The study, provided by web design company DesignRush, analyzed the current gender pay gap in the computing industry as reported by the US Census Bureau and compared this to a 2024 work calendar to identify “unpaid work” days.

A study conducted ahead of International Women's Day (March 8) found that on average, women working in tech earn just 84.2% of what men do, meaning that women will be working unpaid 41 of the 262 workdays this year.

This is because people working in fields such as game development and data science November 20 Until the end of the year.

In states reporting more severe wage disparities, the date is even earlier. Alaska It ranks first as the country with the most inequality: women in tech earn just 60.6% of what men do and end up working 103 days without pay. September 19th.

North Dakota and Delaware It is the state with the second-largest wage gap, with women earning 66.3% of men's wages, which equates to 88 days unpaid.

in Mississippi, Women in tech October 20While they earn 27.6% less than men in technical jobs, Arkansas Their salaries will be suspended from October 22, 70 days earlier than their male counterparts working in the same field.

The 10 states with the biggest tech wage gaps

Meanwhile, the state with the smallest wage gap is South Dakota, Women in tech earn 99.1% of what men earn, which means that from December 29th, they will start working for free.

in Idaho, The date of this unpaid work has been slightly earlier, on December 21st, and women's earnings are 3.8% lower than men, Connecticut, Women in the technology industry, who earn 94.3% of what men make, will stop receiving paychecks on December 16th.

This is quite small, but No state reported equal pay in the tech industry. It points to gender discrimination and lack of equal opportunities across the country.

More than half (54%) of organizations globally will report a tech skills shortage by 2023, with a recent Deloitte survey identifying talent recruitment and retention as the tech workforce's most prominent challenge, despite massive attrition.

However, many skilled women working in computing are hesitant to apply to organisations with a large gender pay gap, especially if they feel that this puts them at risk of discrimination or limits their opportunities for promotion.

Commenting on the findings, Gianluca Ferruggia, general manager at DesignRush, said: “The skills gap can result from changing organizational needs, increasing globalization and inadequate training systems, but it can also be exacerbated by the difficulty of retaining talented workers, especially in highly competitive sectors like technology.”

“Last year saw massive layoffs across the technology industry, with more than 3 million workers reportedly affected by these massive job cuts. But most of these organizations need to retain their current talent and attract new skilled workers to stay in business. And when they're struggling to do so, they need to evaluate why.”

“Any discrimination, including gender inequality, is unethical and should not be tolerated. Failing to provide equal opportunities for career progression and equal pay for female workers negatively impacts our ability to manage, retain and satisfy our current workforce and needs to be rectified as a priority this year, and highlighted on International Women's Day.”

-end-

Data is compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent Occupational Earnings Survey results. Deloitte's survey results for technology industry leaders can be found here: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/tech-talent-gap-and-skills-shortage-make-recruitment-difficult.html

Methodology: We compared the gender pay gap reported by the US Census Bureau to the number of workdays in 2024 (262 days) to calculate how many days women's lower wages equate to compared to men's. We then counted back from December 31, 2024 to determine the number of “unpaid work” days.

If you use these research findings, please include linked credits to the researchers. Design RushDoing so will enable us to continue delivering similar insights to you in the future, for which we are extremely grateful.

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